A Mother and Daughter Decided to Lose Weight Together—See Their Inspiring Progress After 100 Days

Find out how the duo lost 74 pounds in 100 days in our exclusive interview.

A lot can change in 100 days. So when 50-year-old Cheryl Shaw and her daughter, 17-year-old Tessa, watched a woman recording her weight-loss journey every day on giveit100.com, a site that lets people upload 10-second videos each day of themselves working toward a goal for 100 days, they decided that they would try a similar project.

Come day 100, Cheryl and Tessa had lost a combined 74 pounds, changed their lives, and inspired themselves to keep their healthy-living habits going. "This is a life-long journey," says Cheryl. "You have to 'GiveitForever,' not just 100 days." Watch their video for yourself:

The video is pretty amazing, but we got to chat with Cheryl about her 100-day journey for even more insight. Here’s what she had to say about losing weight, staying motivated, and getting the support you need:

What Pushed You and Your Daughter to Make the Change Together?
I would have to say that the "aha" moment was Christmas morning when my daughter came into my room with my gift. I was lying in bed as usual, and she gave me a necklace and said that the necklace meant a new beginning. Then I looked at her and started to cry. I could actually see the worry on her face because I had gained more than 100 pounds in one and a half years. As a parent, you never want to put that worry in your child's mind. Meanwhile, I saw my daughter 20 pounds shy of 200, five feet tall, and with a lifetime ahead of her of the same struggles I was facing. I knew it was time for a change for the both of us. We needed to start a healthy lifestyle and stick to it, not just for ourselves, but for each other.

How Did You Support Each Other Through Your Weight-Loss Journey?
It really was a team effort through and through. Tessa would make both our breakfasts, and I would cook all the food for the week so we had everything on-hand and had no excuse to not eat healthier. If one of us became too busy, the other would help out and work on it together.

How Did You Adjust Your Eating Habits?
This was our biggest change in the 100 days. Prior to the weight loss, we were eating garbage—fast food—on an almost daily basis. It was mainly a convenience factor. Our diet changed to eliminate foods with sugar, up our intake of water, and we started to make our own healthy version of "fast food." All our meals are now prepared ahead of time—I cook up a lot of chicken breasts and place them in a Tupperware container of cooked veggies and a huge container of raw spinach. In the morning, we prepare both lunch and dinner and bring it with us. This way, when it's time to eat, we have our food with no last-minute choices that would lead to eating garbage. We eliminated eating out as much as possible because you really don't know what you're putting in your body like you do when your meals are cooked at home. You know all of the ingredients going into them.

How Did You Get Moving and Exercising?
I went from no exercise, immobile, just lying in bed watching TV and hobbling around until my feet adjusted to my weight, to stretching and moving again. As we continued to increase our exercise, it became much easier. Tessa and I tried all different things that we considered movement—some things included simple things like taking the stairs, walking, shoveling snow, and cleaning the house. Anything we could do to be active and productive, and we made sure to get in cardio at least four times per week. We tried to change our workouts frequently and did some DVDs at home and took different classes like kickboxing and mixed martial arts. We've completed our first 100-day challenge and are on to the next 100 days, with a goal to do a Spartan Race in June. With this, we added more jogging and walking to our exercise routine.

What Was the Hardest Part of Losing Weight?
I was not enjoying my workouts, but we kept pushing forward regardless and tried a lot of different workouts to hold our interest and push ourselves in new ways every day. I found that if you don't love what you're doing, then you won't push yourself.

What Advice Do You Have for Women Who are Trying to Lose Weight?
You must find an activity that you love so you stick with it and push yourself. With that comes a community of people who care about you. Support is definitely key for Tessa and me, as it is with a lot of other people going through their own weight-loss journeys. So make a plan to help you reach your goals. If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail.